“It was total immersion
for me,” says Joe (Ngā Puhi), who was recently released
from Christchurch Men’s Prison. “It was a gift to be
able to use my time in prison to learn about my culture. As
a descendant of the rangatira, it’s made me want to
change. Why was I doing all these crimes when I should have
been nurturing the treasures of my ancestors and of my
children? They must be my first priority.”

Joe, who
taught himself to carve while he was in and out of prison
over the past ten years, has created a number of works that
have been gifted to the community. His latest is a carving
donated to Pillars, a charity based in Christchurch and
Auckland that supports the children and families of
prisoners.

He’s now working on a carving for New Zealand
Prisoners Aid and Rehabilitation Society (NZPARS) and says
he was very happy to do the carvings for “two great
institutions” that support prisoners’ families.

He was
also one of several carvers who worked on a carving that was
recently installed in the prison area where children can
visit their fathers.

Along with carving, Joe also paints
and draws. His two drawings in the prison art auction Rū
Whenua Whakaaro – Thoughts of the Earthquake were
sold. Held in March this year, the auction included 100
artworks by 50 prisoners across the three Canterbury
prisons: Christchurch Men’s Prison, Christchurch Women’s
Prison and Rolleston Prison. All of the money raised (just
over $21,000) was donated to the Christchurch Mayoral
Earthquake Fund.

In prison, Joe carved as much as he could
– when he had the energy, the time and the permission, he
says. “I’ve never done carving on the outside but for
me, it’s a huge step forward and it’s an industry where
I plan to earn a living.”

Now on probation for six
months, Joe wants to focus on his carving and on increasing
his skills. “It’s a gift I want to keep developing.
There are always greater heights to climb and I see myself
simply as a tool producing these gifts from times past.
It’s something I would like to pass on to others if I
can.”

Along with his carving, Joe is writing and
illustrating a story about eels and how they migrated into
Lake Omapere in the Bay of Islands – the area where he
grew up.

“The story is about the importance of leaving a
legacy of names – the rivers and creeks the eels travel up
to reach Lake Omapere. It’s a beautiful story and I’m
only halfway through. But I’ll get there.”

When the
story and the illustrations are completed, Joe would like to
donate it to Maori Television so it can be read to children
in te reo Māori and in English.

As part of his
reintegration, Joe is keen to connect with other carvers in
the community and local marae. He also wants to hone his
carving by attending courses and
wānanga.

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